N.J. residents like their hometowns more than the state, Monmouth University poll finds

Noah Addis/The Star-LedgerA view of the exterior of the Statehouse in Trenton in this file photo.

New Jerseyans like their hometowns. But their state? Not so much.

A new look at the Garden State’s quality of life by the Monmouth University Poll found far fewer people had a positive opinion of the state than they did of the cities and towns they call home. Asked what they disliked most about the state, nearly half complained about taxes.

Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, said the bottom line was that while aspects of life for most people are stable or improving, they believe the state itself is not contributing in a positive way.

"Trust in state government is falling. It’s at an all time low and that really is the hallmark of where the quality of life stands in New Jersey," Murray said. "People are doing okay, but it’s because of what they are doing themselves and the lives they have built in their own home towns."

Driving that, he said, was a lack of confidence in state government and the way Trenton has been spending money over the past 10 years.

"There is an overall distrust of state government as a whole — a distrust that the government can manage tax money, and that’s probably a fallout of all the borrowing and debt we’ve accumulated, as much as anything else," Murray said.

The poll, which surveyed nearly 3,000 New Jersey residents, was conducted between Dec. 1 and 15, 2010, using a computer assisted telephone interviewing system. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Overall, 73 percent had a positive opinion of their home towns. But significantly fewer, 63 percent, thought the state was a good place to live. While still a majority, it was the lowest positive reading in 30 years of polling on the question and the first time residents gave the state lower grades than the towns in which they reside.

The state received its highest marks from residents back in 1987, when Tom Kean was governor and more than 80 percent felt New Jersey was a good or excellent place to live.

Murray called the findings troubling for policy makers.

"It really means that confidence in government is just about swamping everything that is good in the state," he said, a trend that could give residents little incentive to stay in New Jersey over the long-term.

Indeed, a majority — more than 50 percent — said they found themselves wishing they could live elsewhere.

Chester Township Mayor Bill Cogger said the poll results didn’t surprise him. Most people have a better feeling about their town than they do their state because they have a personal connection to their neighborhoods and local politicians, he said.

"Democracy works best closer to people," said Cogger, a 40-year resident of the suburban Morris County township. "The small towns have an intimate relationship with their electorate."

Cogger, 61, in his second term as mayor, has traveled the country on business. But the Jersey native has never considered moving out of the state. "I have never found a place any nicer to live," he said.

The poll found more than half had strong feelings of belonging to their local communities. Most felt their neighbors were trustworthy. At least two-thirds felt they could easily ask a neighbor to run an errand for them, and that someone on their block would pick up their garbage can if it fell over.

Eve Balboni of Berkeley Heights said taxes are high in New Jersey and that it is exceptionally expensive to live here. But the St. Louis native, who moved to New Jersey as a teenager, would not consider leaving the state where she raised her three children.

"I have come to love New Jersey. I really feel like this state has it all," said Balboni, 54, a jewelry designer. "I’m always going to be a New Jerseyan."

Clark resident Jim Marciano, 44, sees plenty of flaws in the state where he has lived his entire life. "It’s a shakedown state," said Marciano, who grew up in Linden. "It’s just very expensive. Property taxes are ridiculous."

However, with two kids in local high school and most of his family in New Jersey, Marciano said he wouldn’t even consider leaving until after retirement.

"No, this is where my roots are, where my family is," he said.

Murray said the state’s quality of life is not the worst it has been, but it could have been better.

Asked to name what they like most about living here, those questioned had no single answer. More than 10 percent cited the state’s proximity to the shore and to major cities, especially New York. Some suggested the presence of friends and family. About 4 percent said job opportunities. Ten percent could not come up with any reason.

Those same people, then were asked the first thing that came to mind about what they disliked most about New Jersey. Taxes topped the responses, with 46 percent complaining about what they pay to the government. About 11 percent indicated their unhappiness with the region’s cost of living. For 7 percent, the complaint was traffic. Three percent said what they disliked most about the state was Gov. Chris Christie.

In fact, 44 percent of residents said they do not have much confidence in Trenton, marking the lowest reading since 1974.

Local governments fared better. Sixty five percent said they had confidence in their local government — a number that has been fairly stable since 1974.